In reply to Angel (msg # 34):

The manacles clamp over your wrists, surprisingly loosely, through still tight enough to be convincing. You get the feeling none of the guards are taking you particularly seriously. The human guard leads you away further into the tunnel and through a side door leading off the main path. Here he takes you through a small labyrinth of narrow corridors. Cells containing various individuals of ill repute line many of the walls; the bars rusted and the holding facilities themself in poor repair. “New in town then, I take it? Word of advise: Don’t go mentioning the Sunless in front of anyone officially affiliated with the city. Guards included. City Council pays good money for their agents to be captured and brought in for questioning.”

Many of the cells you pass now are completely empty. Most look as though they’ve not held a criminal in well over a decade. The guard brings you to one particularly dusty cell about halfway down a dimly lit hallway. “Roe’s open to anyone to enter, but we’re meant to check for suspicious types first. From now on, the less suspicious you can be out there, the better. Until then though, I hereby sentence you to imprisonment here until such time as the city sees fit to free you. Straw and blankets are in the corner there. Someone will be down to feed you in a day or two. Third brick from the floor, just above the water.” He opens the barred door, undoes your manacles, and gently shoves you inside; locking the bars behind you.

“Oh, and welcome to Tideswallow!”

You are left alone with your thoughts. Your cell is dark, dry, and dim. A pile of straw rests in one corner, a waste bucket in another. A pale of water sits against the back wall, clearly stagnant. Some simple blankets are folded up between it and the straw.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:38, Tue 02 Feb 2021.

Angel kept silent as she was locked away, content to file away the information the guard provided for future use. Don't mention the Sunless to anyone connected with the city, guards included, and the checkboard guards are obviously city guards... Got it.

Once he'd left, she looked around her cell and then casually adjusted her bag... the one still draped across her shoulder and resting against her hip... the one the guard had conveniently forgotten to remove... along with everything in her pockets and her weapons too. Now that was fortuitous indeed!

If it wasn't by design. She corrected herself. Maybe he was trying to help her after all. What was it he'd said? Third brick from the floor, just above the water.

Careful to keep an ear out for anyone approaching, Angel searched her cell... paying particular attention to the area around the pail of water in the corner.


OOC: 06:10, Today: Angel rolled 14 using 1d20+4.  Perception check.
     06:10, Today: Angel rolled 19 using 1d20+4.  Investigation check.
    And as always, Pink Italics are thoughts.

In reply to Angel (msg # 36):

As you examine the back wall of the cell, you find it to be made of very basic stacked bricks. You’d imagine, with enough force, the old mortar used to seal it all together wouldn’t really be able to hold for long. However, looking closer, you also take note that one brick in particular, three rows up from the floor, just out a few more inches than those around it.

Additionally, you note that the cell has no windows and only the iron-bar cage that makes up the doorway you were pushed through in terms of ways in. The only light source is a small torch sconce across the narrow hall from your bars.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:43, Sun 07 Feb 2021.

Finding the brick that jutted out further than the rest — three up from the floor, just as the guard had said — Angel tried manipulating it, seeing if she could removed it or push it in...

OOC: let me know if any rolls are required

In reply to Angel (msg # 38):

There is a loud CLICK as the brick depresses into the wall at the slightest touch. A moment later, a full quarter of the brick wall before you swings inward and a short tunnel opens before you. At its end, you can see a dismal-looking subterranean street. It appears to let out at the back of an alleyway between two rough-hewn stone buildings. Many of the buildings on the far side of the street appear to be of similar make; carved from a single stone rather than built. You can’t see much else beyond that, but you do note the occasional figure passing by in the street beyond the alley. All of them look poor, weary, and just generally down on their luck. Wherever this is, it is clearly on the lower end of the city’s list of priorities.

A wry grin spread over Angel's face as she peered through the secret door and down the tunnel that lead to the alley. Well, she thought to herself. I guess since a guard told me how to find this, then that means the 'city' has decided that I'm free to go. Not that it mattered much, she'd intended to escape from her cell anyway but she thought it a fine joke that she could actually honestly say that she'd been set free instead.

Making sure she had all her things, she slipped into the tunnel and carefully looked on the other side of the secret door to see if there was an accompanying trigger to shut the door and perhaps also to open it again from the tunnel-side...

19:49, Today: Angel rolled 8 using 1d20+4.  Investigation/Perception check. (looking for door trigger)
    (assuming a fail)

... but failing to find anything, Angel simply tried to push the door closed instead.

Once that was done, she crept to the end of the tunnel and carefully peered out, making sure she wasn't being observed. Then took a moment to summon her inborn magic and cast an illusion to change her clothes.

19:54, Today: Angel rolled 15 using 1d20+4.  Perception check. (seeing if she was observed)
OOC: using Disguise Self to change outfit appearance.

The guard had said that the less attention she drew the better, so she made her present outfit look more like the dreary, poor clothing she'd seen worn by those that passed by, along with a hood to hide her face. Satisfied that she wouldn't draw too much attention now, she strode out of the alley and down the street, looking for anywhere or anyone she might ask about the Sunless or the Silhouette.

19:56, Today: Angel rolled 12 using 1d20+4. Perception check (looking for somewhere/someone to ask)

The door is heavy, but with a little effort it slides back into place; perfectly fusing back together with the brick wall that makes up this end of the alleyway. Looking from this side, you would have no idea there was a door there.

Much of the surrounding area gives off the vibe of a lower-end portion of a big city. Small buildings built very close together. Ragged clothes on the people walking by. Everyone who passes clearly completely uninterested in what anyone else around them is doing. The only major difference is the setting of it all: you are currently standing amongst rough-hewn buildings carved from seaside bedrock, all standing in a single massive cavern somewhere below the city proper.

You’re unsure exactly how far down you are, but there is no hint of sound from above. The cavern is enormous and contains an obscene number of buildings. Shops, brothels, housing, lodging. All manner of facilities all crammed into a single subterranean district that spans, as bet you can tell, perhaps half of the total space of the city above it. A few massive towers connect from the craggy ceiling all the way to the floor, while others appear to hang unsupported; carved from the naturally-forming stalactites. There are also significant portions of the cavern that are still untouched by any pick or chisel; completely natural and uneven in appearance/

Directly around you, you see the street stretch out in either direction. About three dozen ragged citizens are wandering this way and that long this thoroughfare. Many wear simple cloaks and hoods to better hide their anonymity. You suspect many have no identity at all outside of what little living they scratch out down here.

Mentally commanding her clothing to change so that it more closely resembled what everyone else was wearing, Angel pulled up her hood -- likewise to preserve her anonymity -- and turned left down the thoroughfare. She kept her pace at a wandering walk, like the others, and scanned the buildings on either side as she went, looking for any sign of the supposed Court of the Sunless she wasn't supposed to ask about but nonetheless was told to find...

OOC: Using Disguise Self ability to make her clothing "blend in" with the locals.
06:54, Today: Angel rolled 23 using 1d20+4.  Perception check. (looking for the Court of the Sunless)

He walked along slowly his eyes scanned his surroundings for any signs of danger but mostly just for the people. After Mezzaline got to see the dock master they had made their way to the entertainment district. Looked over the various inns, brothels, and other venues of entertainment. He had figured it was possibly due to they types of people who had frequented the city the amount of traffic to and from the harbor, as well as the adventurers that passed through.

 From the entertainment area to the two square and artisan areas where they looked into nearly every shop. Soren went from place to place and even stopped people along the streets to ask questions about the town and surrounding area. His focus seemed to be business, hunting, rumors, and the people in charge of the city. One thing was that no matter the person, from a young child to the elderly. The lowest beggar to the most highbrow shopper, Soren had a way with people. He purchased a small bag of sweets and a package of dried rations. He snacked on both as they walked sometime offering some sweets to children and some copper to the beggars.

 Little small talk was made between Soren and Mezzaline. Mostly of the town, it's citizens, or what she thought of some of the items in any stores they went into. He had hoped that the sun and fresh air would have brightened her demeanor. So as they walked along the streets in the Roe he glanced to her and asked "So what do you think of the town, better than the last place you were in?"


OOC- Lemme know if I need to do any rolls.

From - Waterfront; Salty Seaman Inn & Tavern

The Dockmaster had been uneventful overall but Mezzaline had started to feel the overall drain of the earlier day, and resolved to return once she could shake the odd clammy feeling she'd gained once she and Soren had left the Inn. Probably the sea air.

Strange sensation aside, Mezzaline felt content to people watch as Soren hunted down something intangible - rumors, stories, directions both useful and useless and none of it making much sense to her, but there was something about wandering aimlessly that made up for the lack of a proper destination, but she kept her eyes open regardless.

Mezzy takes a moment to think of an answer. "Better than the wreck, at the very least." She says as she swipes a sweet.

OOC: 14:24, Today: Mezzaline Thessaly rolled 22 using 1d20+2.  Perception. Nice.

Soren nodded his eyes watchful of their surroundings as they walked his left hand still held to the dagger at his belt on front of his belt his right hand hidden under his cloak. He looked behind them and the towards the roof tops as he asked quizzically "Wreck, were you in a wreck?" Though his voice did not give much inclination if he was shocked or surprised by this he continued "Was that why you wet all wet and on that boat?"

 It was news to him and though he might have been concerned to some degree he did acknowledge she was well and unharmed at this point. He thought it might have slipped her mind at the moment or perhaps she had not been ready to talk about it at the Salty Seaman. If she was now then he would offer his ear. At this moment he had hoped this reminiscing of the event did sour her mood that had appeared to be getting brighter.

In reply to Angel (msg # 42):

You emerge into the city’s slums. The Roe, as it is, exists as a combination subterranean housing district and base of operations for city works. From carving Tideswallow’s massive sewer system to transporting riches from the mining complexes deep below; any of the city’s most backbreaking labor ultimately passes through the Roe in one way or another.

The people here are weary of outsiders. Life in the slums and the constant struggle to survive below the city proper has left many of them extremely bitter at the world. Don’t expect a warm welcome or a cheery disposition down here... That said, the district itself is no stranger to drifters. If there is one place in the entire city someone could go unnoticed by traditional authorities, it’s here.

---

I’ll need an Investigation roll from each of you. Angel, you can make yours with advantage. Soren and Mezzaline, you can pool your single rolls to take the higher between the two of you. This will just give me some idea of how easily you all find what you’re looking for here.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:18, Sat 27 Feb 2021.

OOC:

16:35, Today: Mezzaline Thessaly rolled 13 using 1d20+1.  Investigation Check.

Hmm. Not great, not awful. Let's see how Soren does

21:39, Today: Angel rolled 23 using 2d20+4, dropping the lowest dice only.  Investigation check (with Advantage).

In reply to GM (msg # 46):

Investigation check
23:32, Today: Soren Wolfgard rolled 20 using 1d20+1.


I think I did alright
This message was last edited by the player at 04:33, Sun 28 Feb 2021.

Angel: The Roe proves to be a twisting labyrinth of narrow streets, dead-end alleyways, shanty structures, and seedy businesses. Yet it is one that practically seems to call to you. There is purpose to be found here, and you have never been one to shy away from something just because of a bad first impression. It is not long before you begin noticing some of the beggars and vagrants eyeing you. And occasionally, pointing wordlessly as you make eye contact. Up one street. Down another. Through an alley here and there. They say nothing as you move through the district, but their eyes and gestures lead you on. It seems news of a good deed travels quickly in this town.

You soon find yourself walking up a street with a slight decline. At the very end of it, built directly into the cavern wall, is a cozy little tavern; built to resemble the sort you associate with the Midlands. Hard-baked clay, packed and molded to form a single structure, rather than bricks to make one up. Wood roofing and facades built up here and there. There is no sign, but you don’t need one to identify the place. The empty streets directly around it and the two dozen men and women moving about within, all clad in uniform black leather and mail, is all the identifier you need. This is the Sunless Solarium. A pair of bouncers, similarly dressed in black chain-and-leather armor stand on either side of the open front door leading in. There is a great deal of noise coming from inside. Most of it is quite pleasant...

---

Mezzaline & Soren: Between the two of you, you are able to navigate the subterranean streets of the Roe without a great deal of difficulty. There are a few points where you get hopelessly lost, yet the path you are on leads ever onward toward its goal. About an hour into your search, you accidentally turn down what appears to be a shortcut over to the next street. However, it ends up being a dead end. Just as you reach the solid wall at the back of the alley, a pair thickly muscled human in black cloaks move in to cut off your way back out. Of their faces, you can make out a pale violet glow, but no other features thanks to the concealing shadows of their dark cowled hoods.

“Looking for something down here, friends?”
“Perhaps something we can help you find?”
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:10, Sun 28 Feb 2021.

 Soren doesn't startle at the sudden appearance of the two he keeps his eyes on the wall then looks to the building on both sides checking their height as he slowly turns towards the two cloaked figures. He gives them both a once over and then smirks as he takes a few steps forward and moves in front of Mezzaline. With his left hand still resting on the handle of his front dagger at his belt and his right hand hidden behind his back and under his own cloak "Took you guys awhile to catch up" he says to them impatiently while quickly following that"Who do you work for?"

 He looks back towards the buildings and then a quick glance behind him to see how Mezzaline is handling the situation, then quickly brings his focus back to the two men to assess their threat level and if they are with an organization or just two guys who picked the wrong dead-end to walk down.


OOC Let me know which roll I need I was thinking to pre-roll a D20 and then you could add or minus whatever from it?

The Roe is somehow worse to navigate than Mezzaline expected it to be, and as they navigate, double back and slowly figure things out she starts to pay less attention to who might be watching them and starts working on a mental map to keep them from being caught in too many more dead ends, not including the one they had found themselves in right now.

The sudden arrival of the cloaked figures with their strange purple glow would have surprised Mezzaline had there not been a strange heavyness in the pit of her stomach. She lurches a little as Soren seems to take control of the situation, but she still looks at where she thinks the hooded figures eyes would be and -

Hurglk

Upright but swaying as she expels up a large amount of seawater, all Mezzaline can do is smile and look a little too delirious as seawater drips from her mouth.

"*Cough* Excuse me. Need something, gents?"

OOC: Same as Soren, do you need any dice rolls?

Having found what she sought, Angel willed her clothing to gradually shift as she made her way toward the open front door. With each step her garments became just a bit less tattered and threadbare, until at the moment she reached the bouncers she seemed to be dressed in a well-made traveler's outfit. Remembering the guard's advice, she attempted not to look suspicious, instead trying to look like she belonged here, as she sought to casually walk in right past the bouncers...

OOC: Using Disguise Self to change clothes
     Check for Deception or Persuasion, (whichever is appropriate, they both have the same mods)

23:41, Today: Angel rolled 8 using 1d20+4.  Deception/Persuasion check .  DOH!!!

In reply to Angel (msg # 53):

Angel: Your disguise is impeccable, your confidence unshakable... however, you get the sudden and unshakable feeling that the individuals gathered here all know each other quite well. The guards do not stop you from entering, but there is a definite drop in the revelry around the tavern as you enter. Suddenly the laughter isn’t quite as loud. The drinks aren’t being poured quite so enthusiastically. The music coming from a white-scaled dragonborn with a strange boxy instrument in the corner now sounds less like a chipper dance and more like an ominous dirge.

Still, no one stops you...
(You can join this thread: link to a message in this game)

Mezzaline & Soren: You see no obvious weapons on either figure, yet there is a definite sense of foreboding simply oozing off of their presence here. You begin to suspect that if these ARE the sorts of underworldly types you were seeking, you may not want any part of what the Roe has to offer after all. There is something fundamentally wrong about the glow leaking from beneath their hoods.
“Friends from afar are a rare pleasure in this town. Most rarely stay more than a night before departing again.”
“Perhaps you are seeking lodging? We could provide. Provided you have coin, of course.”
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:54, Sun 07 Mar 2021.

 Soren takes a moment as he looks back to see Mezzaline spewing water from her mouth. Being one who has seen many a weird and unnatural thing in his life he turns back to the two men trying to think what it could be that is affecting them.A spell, cursed, possessed? Come on think what could do this? He takes a few steps forward as his fingers tap along the handle of his dagger sheathed at his waste. "I am not so sure what your thoughts are but as you can see we have a bit of an issue at the moment-" he speaks to them as he tilts his head to indicate Mezzaline "-So seeing as you don't seem to be the type of organization we are looking for, we may as well be on our way. The lady needs her space"."

 His fingers stop tapping as the index and middle finger rest at the tip of the bottom of the blades handle as a slight motion of his other arm, still hidden under his cloak, moves forward. He mentally goes through many of the things he has learned in an attempt to figure out who or what these guys are. As well as who they maybe connected with. A few more steps away from Mezzaline as he takes another look back and towards the tops of the buildings that enclose them on both sides checking for any others who may be trying to sneak up on them, to see if she is ok, and also wondering if another ruse might help favor them in this situation.

 His movements bring him in line to placing himself between the two men and Mezzaline in a two fold attempt to block their sight of her as well as to take a defensive position in case she is not well enough to fight due to whatever it is that is causing her to vomit large amounts of water. Once he has gained about a ten foot distance between him and Mezzaline he stops and waits for whatever the next move would be.



OOC looking to see if Soren can get an Arcana or insight roll to figure out anything more of the two cloaks figures. Should I roll for perception to see if there is an ambush?
01:03, Today: Soren Wolfgard rolled 7 using 1d20+6.  Perception. subtract 2

01:02, Today: Soren Wolfgard rolled 12 using 1d20+6.  Insight. subtract 2

01:02, Today: Soren Wolfgard rolled 4 using 1d20+1.  Arcana.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:05, Thu 11 Mar 2021.

With a small cough, Mezzline waives a hand in polite dismissal. "I have lodgings already, but thankyou." She says as if she misunderstands the intentions of the hooded men - intentional obliviousness sometimes worked in her favor, but she didn't think it would do anything more than maybe buy them time.

Waiting and watching the hooded strangers for their reaction, Mezzaline subconsciously starts to draw cold watery energy to her free hand and waiting to see who breaks the strange stalemate first.

OOC: Readying and holding Eldritch Blast

Both figures seem to be holding their ground, not stepping any closer but not backing away either.
The man on the left raises a hand toward Soren, but speaks to Mezzaline. “It is important to know where friends can be found. We can he-“

Before he can finish, the sound of a bowstring loosing comes from overhead.

Then another.

And another.

And another.

All at once, the man on the left is utterly ventilated by arrows from all sides. Looking up, you both see the vague outlines of black-clad figures dashing to new vantage points on the rooftops above you.

As the first man falls to the ground, a steely dagger dropping from the loose fist in his right sleeve, the second man screams and raises both hands toward the two of you. A small violet pearl or marble of some kind is clutched in one hand and he clearly intends to use it as a casting medium.

---

You can roll initiative if you like and Mezzaline, you are free to do whatever you want with your held spell.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:14, Mon 22 Mar 2021.

OOC 02:16, Today: Soren Wolfgard rolled 6 using 1d20+2. initiative

Mezzaline is expecting a lot of things to happen, but an ambush against their assailants wasn't one of them, and when the remaining cloaked figure raised his arm at them, the strange purple glowing thing clutched within, she reacted and thrust her hand forward.

For a brief moment the liquid energy in her hand holds a cephalopodic shape before it launches at the remaining hooded stranger and striking with unexpected force.

13:48, Today: Mezzaline Thessaly rolled 14 using 1d20+4.  Ranged Spell Attack, Eldritch Blast
13:59, Today: Mezzaline Thessaly rolled 5 using 1d10+3.  Eldritch Blast Damage.
13:59, Today: Mezzaline Thessaly rolled 14 using 1d20+2.  Initiative.